Materiality assessment
Our operating environment experienced a significant change in the autumn of 2019 due to reorganisation of the company and its ownership. We therefore felt that it was time to update the materiality matrix that guides our responsibility work. As an aid in this work, we used a third-party expert who facilitated our process and interviewed our stakeholders to determine the key aspects in the responsibility of procurement.
This work took place at an interesting time, as our regional authority customers had only recently begun to benefit from our services. Representatives of the regional authorities were included in the stakeholder interviews to voice their expectations. The increased focus on responsibility could also be seen in the new Government Programme, which in part challenges us to develop our practices even more forcefully.
As the basis for this work, we compiled a long list of materiality aspects, and arranged workshops to trim the list down into the most significant responsibility themes. The responsibility working group submitted a proposal on a new materiality matrix to the company’s Executive Committee, which approved it on 8 October 2019. A total of nine aspects were selected for the final materiality matrix. Click on the balls in the matrix for more information.
Climate- and eco-friendly procurement
Prevention of the black economy
Openness and transparency
of public procurement
Ethical policies
Providing support and guidance
for our customers and suppliers,
and ensuring their commitment
Efficient procurement in the entire public sector
Socially responsible procurement
Well-functioning
markets and good
tendering practices
Competent work
community where
people feel well
Social responsibility
Financial responsibility
Environmental responsibility
Effects in several areas
Realising procurement in a manner that is climate/environmentally friendly is possible with the agreements Hansel makes. We have more than ten years of experience in considering environmental matters in tendering. Indicator: Hansel’s ecolabel
Prevention of the black economy has been included in our processes for a long time. We demand good performance from our suppliers in their contractual obligations, and we continuously monitor the situation with an automated oversight service. We do not condone the black economy, and we have tools to eradicate it. Indicator: financial responsibility label
Openness and transparency of public procurement are some of the basic principles of our operations. There is a great deal of responsibility when procurement is realised using tax revenue. We maintain the Explore Public Spending service at Tutkihankintoja.fi. Our goal is to increase the level of transparency in the entire procurement chain with data from the renewed Hilma service, for example. Indicator: Expanding the content of Tutkihankintoja.fi
Ethical policies create the foundation for Hansel’s operations. Transparency and openness towards both customers and suppliers is one of the prerequisites for our operations. In October 2019, we established a new compliance function to support this goal. Indicator: no misconduct
Providing support and guidance to our customers and suppliers, and ensuring that they are committed to the process, come with our role as the developer of comprehensive procurement operations. We serve our customers and suppliers through a variety of channels. We value functional cooperation and regular interaction. We are developing first-class digital services. Indicator: customer and supplier satisfaction
Efficient procurement in the entire public sector can be achieved by centralising procurement operations. We have strong evidence that concentration will achieve both cost and process savings. Indicator: joint procurement volume
Hansel’s new responsibility analysis covers socially responsible procurement. Over the past year, we have added Code of Conduct requirements to more agreements with challenges due to long subcontracting chains, for example. Accessibility and employment are also emphasised more in our tendering processes. Indicator: social responsibility label
Functionality of the market and good tendering practices are key aspects of our work. We are active in the supplier market and familiar with the market. We want our procurement operations to attract interest. We arrange tendering in accordance with our own processes, which always include quality assurance. Indicator: SMEs’ share of the total volume
A competent work community where the people feel well is one of the prerequisites for success. Hansel’s employees are respected public procurement experts who also share their expertise. Indicator: personnel satisfaction, number of training days
Corporate responsibility management approach
| Materiality theme | Material aspects | Limitations and impact | Management approach | Performance assessment |
| Efficient procurement in the entire public sector | Efficient use of public funds; price and process savings |
Joint procurement volume benefit strongly influences the finances of internal customers | Category management carries the main responsibility, extensive internal instructions | Price and volume monitoring, savings calculations |
| Ethical policies | Compliance is absolutely necessary because of the nature of our operations | The actions of all the employees have direct impact | Compliance function established and compliance officer named | Compliance monitoring and reporting; event and gift list |
| Climate/environmentally friendly procurement | Procurement can have a positive impact on climate and environmental matters | through requirements specified for suppliers’ products and services. | Corporate responsibility management and responsibility processes; new tool: responsibility analysis |
Ecolabel; considering climate and the environment as comprehensively as possible in tendering; environmental matters considered, % |
| Openness and transparency of public procurement | Public funds must be used transparently | Systematic collection of joint procurement data; cooperation with customers to obtain their procurement data |
Development of analytics services | Volume of procurement data; expansion of tutkihankintoja.fi service |
| Socially responsible procurement | High effectiveness of joint procurement and taking into account subcontracting chains in procurement | The effects can be seen in the operations of the contractual suppliers and their subcontractors | Code of Conduct appended to joint procurement agreements | Social responsibility label, % |
| Prevention of the black economy | Public funds are used through our agreements, which is why the prevention of the black economy is important | Hansel monitors the operations of its contractual suppliers | Financial responsibility processes and their monitoring | Financial responsibility label, % |
| Operation of the market and good tendering practices | Public procurement should be realised in accordance with the existing competitive conditions | Hansel’s goal is to obtain several offers in each tendering process | Compliance with processes when preparing procurement | Number of offers/tendering; number of contractual suppliers and subcontractors; share of SMEs among suppliers |
| Providing support and guidance to customers and suppliers, and ensuring their commitment | Development of public procurement | Direct impact on the sharing of good practices and operating models | Extensive internal instructions | Customer and supplier satisfaction; number of participants in different events |
| Competent work community where people feel well | Strategic goal: becoming the most valued public procurement expert and an attractive employer | The company’s operations and management method have a direct impact | HR processes | HR indicators, personnel satisfaction |